Ray School District seeks budget override

The Ray Unified School District Board recently voted to hold a 10 percent maintenance and operations override election.

The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. The election process allows for voters in the school district to submit comments for or against the override. The comments must not exceed 200 words; the comments can be hand delivered or mailed to the Pinal County School Superintendent at 75 N. Baily St. in Florence or they can be mailed to PO Box 769, Florence, AZ 85132. An informational pamphlet will be mailed to each home with a registered voter with the comments submitted.

If approved by the voter the override election will not increase any property taxes for local residents; it only maintains the current secondary tax rate which on average is about $50 per month for each household. If the election does not pass, school leaders will be forced to cut about $110,000 from the school budget each year for the next several years.

The school override has been in effect since the 1980s and has been consistently supported by the voters of the Ray Unified School District.

Mila Besich-Lira is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.